Those who Got Appointments, Where else did you get in?

Looks like all of you had some really great choices. Congratulations again to everyone!
 
I'm such a horrible person. I only applied to USAFA and USNA. While I was applying for Auburn and Embry-Riddle, I got accepted into the Naval Academy Prep School. So that became my back-up school if I didn't get into USAFA. Therefore, I risked it by not applying to other schools.
 
You are not horrible, you are honorable. DS did the exact same thing, b/c he felt that since he had his back up he would rather see somebody else have the chance when he already knew he wouldn't attend. In actuality his back up was UMiami (full ride), then got accepted to UMD scholars and pulled his AF packet before the board met in March, b/c he accepted full ride AFROTC UMD. To me that sshows consideration for your peers, b/c your acceptance letter fom a school means they are sending a rejection to someone else while you knew you had no intention of attending.
 
The only school my son wanted to attend was the USAFA. He didn't even want to visit any other schools much less apply. So for him it was definitely USAFA or bust. Fortunately, it all worked out!! :thumb:
 
xsurfer: my son was the same way. We "encouraged" him to apply elsewhere + AFROTC scholarships; he humored us, but his heart was certainly not in it.
 
"Bust" would have definitely sucked.

I'm not boasting on my son, but I've said this many times on this and other military forums. It is imperative that you apply to other schools. Almost 10,000 applications per year come in for the Air Force Academy. Of which, 1700 will be offered an appointment. And of which, 1300-1400 will actually accept it and walk in the door. A person not getting accepted most times has NOTHING to do with them as an applicant. It can simply be too many people applying. Too many from his state/district; too many all together.

Then; what happens if you don't get an appointment? What happens if you get an appointment and for whatever reason you change your mind. MORE REALISTICALLY; what happens if you've got that magical appointment, and you get hurt prior to graduating high school and are no longer qualified? What happens if you make it to basic training and decide you don't like it; get hurt there and sent home; or other things????

All you future applicants reading this; this year's applicants and well as last year's will tell you that I have nothing but the utmost respect for you. The air force means so much to me. The fact that you are willing to serve your country can NEVER receive enough appreciation. Willing to serve and apply puts you into a tight family. And as part of that family, I love you all. But with all your passion and determination, don't make a mistake and not apply to other schools. My son basically had a guaranteed chance at an appointment. Meaning, very few people from our state applying; 4.0 gpa; class rank #1; IB program; Mult-Varsity sports captain; Killer ACT/SAT; presidential, rep, and senator nominations; application 100% completed July 19th (According to USAFA, 1st completed in the country); Military Brat, so he knew what he was getting into; etc... He went on to receive his appointment the 1st week of November.

We talked about it and he still put in applications for 5 other universities. He was accepted to all 5 universities. 3 of them we went through the scholarship applications. 2 of the 3 he received a 100% full ride. The 3rd he received a 50% ride. The other 2 we didn't go through the scholarship portion. We even went as far as making some soft reservations for dorms and registration. We did this even though we were 110% positive that as long as he would make it to the academy, he WAS going. But we had to be realistic. As an athlete, he could have gotten injured. (He even dropped out of Spring sports (Soccer team hated him for that) just so he wouldn't risk injury. He could have had an accident. There are so many what ifs; EVEN after receiving and ACCEPTING the appointment. And because BCT is done the 1st week of August, if something happened and he couldn't finish, didn't want it, got hurt, etc... there was still 3 weeks prior to most traditional schools starting.

Now some will decide to attend a Community College if they don't get accepted, and re-apply to USAFA again next year. That's cool. At least it's a backup. Personally; if you're good enough to get accepted to the academy, you're good enough to get accepted to some of the best colleges in the country. That is what you ALL should be applying to. There's a lot of money out there for college. So please, apply to some colleges along with the academies. I am one of the most positive people you'll probably ever meat. Most people consider me the "Eternal Optimist". But WANTING SOMETHING BAD ENOUGH can only take you so far. Sometimes, you don't get the appointment. And even if you do, "Crap" happens. Something might come up. Please; at least have your local state university as a backup. For some states, that's easy. For others; like Texas; you can't just walk over to Austin in August and say you want to go to school. PLEASE!!!!! Have a backup plan. Obviously, this is directed towards those applying for the class of 2014. Best of luck to all of you. mike......
 
I think ChristCorp is right and both my sons had backups on which we put down deposits (non refundable of course). Luckily, they were not injured before BCT, but one did have his nose broken DURING BCT, and docs gave him a choice: take the medical turnback and come back next year after having surgery, or ride it out and they would see how his nose was in ten days. Well, of course, he opted to ride it out. He'll not need surgery, but he does have a small bump now (which distinguishes him from his brother!).

Had he taken the turnback or been forced into it due to a more severe injury, he was all set up to attend another college. We alerted the college before hand and they agreed to this situation.

I'm grateful that they both made it through BCT ok!
 
backup schools

CC had written an excellent post very similar on another thread about applying to many good schools throughout the country.. going outside of your 150 mile radius.. because schools look for geographic diversity. So my daughter applied (got some scholarship money from nearly all except our local schools.. so CC was right.. they give money to people outside region..she was also offered the honors programs/honor college in most) and got into..

Xavier University (cincinnati)- Presidental Scholarship (her back-up)
University of Dayton-Deans Scholarship
Case Western Reserve University
University of Kansas
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Univ. of Southern Maine
Univ. of Maine
American
George Washington
USAFA.... :biggrin:
waiting on USNA (not waitlisted, not rejected, will know soon..HS never sent transcripts until 2/28)

We got Xavier and other great offers before USAFA... but her heart was not into it, because it was not USAFA

Thanks for all the support of the parents who "have been through it before" because you really need to have that heads up.. I will probably do better with the second daughter!!! :thumb:
We were fortunate that my daughter had a boyfriend as a Freshman that was a junior and we watched him go thru the college process. He was high-achieving and he guided her on what she should be doing with sports and government etc....he ended up with a full ride to Columbia. So I think starting early is fantastic.. just some kids/parents do not know (and unfortunately our guidance dept. leaves a lot to be desired, )and by the time you are a junior it is sometimes too late because your gpa has not been at its best due to freshman and sophmore years. I have seen several smart kids "get a clue", but by then it is sometimes a little too late.

Wow.. a tolstoy novel for me..lol just trying to keep up with CC :wink:

Again thanks to everyone for their input and support. Hope to meet some of you at 2nd Orientation!
 
I love CC also and think he gives great advice, but I am more of a BULLET SUPPORTER...sorry I just had to do that:shake:

If you don't know why, stick around it will become apparent!

Back on topic....one of the true beauties of an SA is that the cadets automatically are forced to break out, b/c the chances of knowing anybody is close to zero/zilch. It is something that they will live and re-live their entire career each time they PCS. On day one they learn to rely on themselves and those that are their brethren to be succesful. The only commonality that they share on I-DAY is their desire to graduate from the AFA...and that is a very strong bond, b/c no other college age student can understand the pressures they endure, than another SA cadet

For the incoming class of 13...remember to pay it back, b/c in a few short months the class of 14 will need your guidance, your direction and your support during their rollercoaster ride, just like the classes of 09,10,11,12 did for you!
 
Christcorp said:
"Bust" would have definitely sucked.

I'm not boasting on my son, but I've said this many times on this and other military forums. It is imperative that you apply to other schools. Almost 10,000 applications per year come in for the Air Force Academy. Of which, 1700 will be offered an appointment. And of which, 1300-1400 will actually accept it and walk in the door. A person not getting accepted most times has NOTHING to do with them as an applicant. It can simply be too many people applying. Too many from his state/district; too many all together.

Then; what happens if you don't get an appointment? What happens if you get an appointment and for whatever reason you change your mind. MORE REALISTICALLY; what happens if you've got that magical appointment, and you get hurt prior to graduating high school and are no longer qualified? What happens if you make it to basic training and decide you don't like it; get hurt there and sent home; or other things????

All you future applicants reading this; this year's applicants and well as last year's will tell you that I have nothing but the utmost respect for you. The air force means so much to me. The fact that you are willing to serve your country can NEVER receive enough appreciation. Willing to serve and apply puts you into a tight family. And as part of that family, I love you all. But with all your passion and determination, don't make a mistake and not apply to other schools. My son basically had a guaranteed chance at an appointment. Meaning, very few people from our state applying; 4.0 gpa; class rank #1; IB program; Mult-Varsity sports captain; Killer ACT/SAT; presidential, rep, and senator nominations; application 100% completed July 19th (According to USAFA, 1st completed in the country); Military Brat, so he knew what he was getting into; etc... He went on to receive his appointment the 1st week of November.

We talked about it and he still put in applications for 5 other universities. He was accepted to all 5 universities. 3 of them we went through the scholarship applications. 2 of the 3 he received a 100% full ride. The 3rd he received a 50% ride. The other 2 we didn't go through the scholarship portion. We even went as far as making some soft reservations for dorms and registration. We did this even though we were 110% positive that as long as he would make it to the academy, he WAS going. But we had to be realistic. As an athlete, he could have gotten injured. (He even dropped out of Spring sports (Soccer team hated him for that) just so he wouldn't risk injury. He could have had an accident. There are so many what ifs; EVEN after receiving and ACCEPTING the appointment. And because BCT is done the 1st week of August, if something happened and he couldn't finish, didn't want it, got hurt, etc... there was still 3 weeks prior to most traditional schools starting.

Now some will decide to attend a Community College if they don't get accepted, and re-apply to USAFA again next year. That's cool. At least it's a backup. Personally; if you're good enough to get accepted to the academy, you're good enough to get accepted to some of the best colleges in the country. That is what you ALL should be applying to. There's a lot of money out there for college. So please, apply to some colleges along with the academies. I am one of the most positive people you'll probably ever meat. Most people consider me the "Eternal Optimist". But WANTING SOMETHING BAD ENOUGH can only take you so far. Sometimes, you don't get the appointment. And even if you do, "Crap" happens. Something might come up. Please; at least have your local state university as a backup. For some states, that's easy. For others; like Texas; you can't just walk over to Austin in August and say you want to go to school. PLEASE!!!!! Have a backup plan. Obviously, this is directed towards those applying for the class of 2014. Best of luck to all of you. mike......
Click to expand...

I see where you say your son dropped out of spring soccer so he would not risk injury. We did not take this route and my son is playing. He is also going to hopefully play at the academy in the fall. No injuries thus far and we are keeping our fingers crossed. I also see where you say your son paid his dorm fees to the other institution. Did he accept the offer from the other institution as well as accepting the offer of appointment to the USAFA. The reason I ask is for the very reason you mention above. Anything can happen but the deadline to accept (in my sons case) other offers is usually May 1. If he does not accept by May 1, he will lose offered schlorships as well as a position at that institution. It puts us in somewhat of a predicament during the limbo period between May 1 and June 25th. Should he accept a position at his backup and pay the dorm fees and then if all is well come June 25th call his backup and inform them that he is not coming? All of these questions are running through my mind and any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
Each university is different. The scholarships he received full and partial, were from numerous schools. MOST of them said that if we put down a deposit, that would reserve the dorm room, registration position (He'd have his slot), and keep his scholarships available until 30 days out. (Basically until 1 August). That would take my son out to the LAST week of BCT and still have the opportunity to go to the civilian university. Granted; we spoke to them and explained the academy situation. Maybe our situation is the NORM for the school. Maybe it is. Maybe, even though all colleges are competing with each other, maybe they have an innate respect for the armed forces and was willing to "Hold" the scholarship.

Being scholarships are not normally offered so late in the process, my son rejecting late didn't really affect someone else not getting it. The school just saved money by not giving out a scholarship that year. Yes, by my son taking all these scholarships, meant someone back in the fall/winter of his senior year probably didn't get the scholarship. Should I feel bad for them? Maybe, but not really. My son shouldn't be required to apply to ONLY 1 school, and wait until they find out if he got accepted before turning it down and applying to a 2nd school; and so on down to 6 different schools. He/we have to look out for what is best for him.

Did we spend some money? Yes. But considering how much we saved with him going to the academy, spending $500-$1000 is nothing. Also; we DID turn down one of the 110% full rides (Also included a monthly stipend for spending money); because another applicant was a classmate of my son's. And because she wasn't as well versed as my son/I was in the college application process, she only applied to that one school as well as State U. She really wanted that school. So when she became the "Alternate" on the wait list for that particular scholarship, my son turned it down in time for her to get it. Had it been someone from another state or someone he didn't know, we probably would have kept that one also in our back pocket.

So, check with the schools. Call them. Talk to admissions. Explain that THEIR school is your kid's FAVORITE; except they have a strong desire to serve their country. And being the "Crap Happens" scenario will be figured out NLT 1 August, ask them what sort of options you have concerning maintaining acceptance, scholarships, financial aid, etc... They probably will say that everything is fine, except for maybe the dorm. (Just like us). In which case, I was willing to spend a down payment of $500 to hold it. Did I waste $500? Depends on how you look at it. We saved approximately $40,000 in 4 years of housing at the academy. And IF BCT didn't work out, or he got hurt ahead of time, the $500 would have helped with a dorm room. Again, each school is different. Call them. Best of luck.... Mike.....
 
Thanks Mike. That is good advice. It is what I thought we would do. The only down side is if they will not hold anything for him. We will give it a shot.
 
*skips posts to the end to post*

Besides USAFA, I also was accepted at:

USNA
University of Delaware
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute

Of course, I chose USAFA. :shake:
 
As well as USAFA, I've been accepted to UCSD, UCLA, UC Davis, and although I didn't finish my application, have been put on a national waiting list for the USMA.
 
Here are my schools I got accepted at

:biggrin:

Here are my schools I got accepted at:
U.Portland
LMU
U.Washington
Naval Academy
Air Force Academy

Got my plane ticket reservation for the 6/24 on friday, I will be going to orientation on the 13th-14th and got my boots and socks money order ready yesterday. I have been running 5 days a week (joined the school track team) to get ready also. So far I have got the 600 down to 1:45 with the required time at 2:10. I still am working on pull-ups to get the max and every thing else I can max out or be close.

See ya all on the 6/25th or at orientation.


MKF2013
 
Keep in mind two things on the 600. After the previous 4 events, you will be tired and have cotton mouth. Two, we are at 7,000 feet, which makes a big difference. Keep working on it, sounds like you're doing well!
 
600 m run

I was there last summer for the Summer Seminar and we ran a lot but I was alright. I could not say that for some others who were having a hard time with the altitude. I know that it is high up and I do have a good lung capacity from years of swimming so I should be ok. I just don't want to be out of shape and have that added stress on me with all the others things that will be happening.

Thanks,

:thumb:

MKF2013
 
You got that time for the 600 (meters or yards?) after all the other 4 events or just at a track meet/practice. My time (track meet) is around 1:40:00 (meters) average but only after having sprint the 300m. I also live where the altitude is around 40-60 feet above sea level, so I'm projecting mine to be around 8:00:00 at COS lol
 
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